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The Official Blog of the New York State Bar Association Health Law Section

January 2012 Archives

January 6, 2012

State Health Department Awards $500,000 in Doctors Across New York Funds

From the DOH website December 29, 2011:

State Health Commissioner Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., today announced that five health care providers have been awarded grants totaling up to $500,000 over two years to support physicians who practice medicine in underserved communities through the "Doctors Across New York" Program.

January 18, 2012

Cuomo Offers Budget With More Trims Than Deep Cuts - NYTimes.com

Today's NY Times highlights some pieces of Governor Cuomo's state of the State:

Mr. Cuomo also proposed saving more than $750 million by limiting planned increases on mental health programs and social services, including eliminating an automatic cost-of-living increase for nonprofit providers of services like foster care, adoption and family counseling.

Addressing a major concern of local governments, Mr. Cuomo proposed that the state gradually take over yearly increases in Medicaid expenses that are now shouldered by county governments and New York City.

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January 19, 2012

Private Health Insurers Are Being Driven Out Of The Markets, Affecting Millions - Forbes

Well. Who would've guessed?

In New York, Empire BlueCross BlueShield said it is no longer offering health insurance plans that cover about 20,000 businesses. Mark Wagar, president and CEO of Empire, said that the company will eliminate seven of the 13 group plans it currently offers to businesses which have two to 50 employees. The move is expected to have a great and potentially "catastrophic" impact on small businesses in New York, according to James L. Newhouse, president of Newhouse Financial and Insurance Brokers in Rye Brook, NY.

January 25, 2012

HANYS Study: Gloomy Forecast on Physician Shortage

Released January 24, 2012:

Hospitals across the state are facing a serious physician shortage that is expected to worsen as the pace of pysician departures and retirements accelerates, and hospitals are having problems recruiting new doctors, according to a new report by the Healthcare Association of New York States (HANYS).